Toilet water saver

ABSTRACT

The toilet water saver includes a toilet tank and flushing valve assembly that efficiently uses the water in the tank for the particular waste being flushed. The flushing valve assembly has two flapper valves, one flapper valve disposed vertically higher than the other, and an actuator that operates one valve singly or both flapper valves simultaneously at the user&#39;s option. The disposition of the valves with respect to the maximum tank capacity level defines respective first and second volumes of water to be used. The higher disposed flapper valve is operated to drain a smaller volume of water for the common liquid wastes while the lower disposed flapper valve is operated to drain a much greater volume for solid waste.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to toilet tanks, and particularly to atoilet water saver that economizes on the use of water when flushing atoilet tank.

2. Description of the Related Art

Water consumption, potable or otherwise, can be costly to consumers,depending upon demand and the available water supply in the locality. Inmany metropolitan areas, wastewater is recycled, and the costs arepassed to the consumer. In some areas of the world, water is a premiumcommodity because of geography, availability, economy, and/or weatherconditions. Modern toilets consume much of the available water, but theyare very inefficient because the same amount of available water in thetoilet tank is employed to flush both liquid and solid wastes.

Thus, a toilet water saver solving the aforementioned problems isdesired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The toilet water saver includes a compact tank and a flushing valvesystem having tank flush valves disposed at different heights withrespect to the base of the tank so that the saver efficiently uses theoptimal amount of water for the task. When flushing waste, thisarrangement allows a small volume of water to be used for liquid waste,the most common form of wastes, and a larger volume for solid waste.

These and other features of the present invention will become readilyapparent upon further review of the following specification anddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The sole FIGURE is an environmental front view in section of a toilettank equipped with an exemplary toilet water saver according to thepresent invention.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistentlythroughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention relates to a toilet water saver that may include atank and flushing assembly that efficiently uses the available water inthe tank by allowing the user to selectively flush predetermined amountsof water, depending on the particular waste material or load. As shownin the sole drawing FIGURE, the toilet water saver 10 may include a tankbody 2 adapted to hold a set volume of water. The water required to fillthe tank is supplied through an inflow tube 4 attached to an inlet pipe6. A float 11, which is pivotally connected to a ballcock assembly via afloat arm 12, controls the level 8 of water in the tank 2. As the tank 2fills, the float 11 rises and gradually closes the ballcock assembly asthe float 11 reaches a predetermined level 8 of water.

The flushing valve assembly includes an elongated overflow tube 22connected to a flush valve body 40. The flush valve body 40 includes asubstantially elongated pipe 28 having a first flapper valve seat 41 atthe upper end to accommodate a first pivotable flapper valve 24. Theopposite end of the pipe 28 is connected to a tank outlet 30 leading tothe toilet bowl. The flush valve body 40 has a Tee or branch pipe 32extending at right angles from the pipe 28 to form a second flappervalve seat 43 for a second pivotable flapper valve 26 near the lower endof the valve body 40. Each of the flapper valve seats 41, 43 aredisposed at an angle with respect to the horizontal to ease the flow ofwater during a flushing operation. This angle is preferably between 30°and 60° with respect to the horizontal.

As shown in the drawing, each of the flapper valves 24, 26 are disposedat different heights with respect to the vertical orientation of theflush valve body 40, i.e., the first flapper valve 24 is disposed at ahigher elevation with respect to the bottom of the tank 2 than thesecond flapper valve 26. Note also that the branching tube 32 and thesecond flapper valve 26 are disposed near the bottom of the tank 2. Thepurpose of these different elevations is to control the amount of wateremployed to flush liquid or solid wastes. The tank 2 holds water up to apredetermined level 8. The first flapper valve 24 is located at adifferential depth X below the predetermined level 8. The volume ofwater contained in the differential depth X corresponds to the amount ofwater sufficient to provide the water pressure needed to flush liquidwastes from the toilet bowl. Preferably, the volume is less thanone-third of the capacity of tank. The second flapper valve 26 islocated at a differential depth Y with respect to the predeterminedlevel 8. The volume of water contained in the differential depth Ycorresponds to the amount of water sufficient to flush solid wastes fromthe toilet bowl. Note that the volume encompassed by differential depthY is much greater than the volume of differential depth X.

An actuator 34 is provided to operate either the first flapper valve 24only or both flapper valves 24, 26 simultaneously at the option of theuser. The actuator 34 includes coaxially mounted handles (at 34) withone handle being independently operable from the other handle. One endof an adjustable chain 20 is connected to the distal end of a firstlever arm 16, and the other end of the chain 20 is connected to thefirst flapper valve 24. The first lever arm 16 is operably attached to afirst one of the independently operable handles. A second lever arm 14is attached to the second handle and is operably connected to acorresponding chain 18, which is connected to the second flapper valve26. The second handle also actuates the first handle so that both valves24, 26 may be opened when flushing solid wastes. An exemplary dualhandle actuator 34 of this type that may be used in the toilet tanksaver 10 is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,129, issued Nov.16, 1993 to Roy, which is hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

Next, the operation of the toilet water saver 10 will be described. Whena user desires to eliminate liquid waste, the user actuates theindependently operable first handle to open the first flapper valve 24via the first lever arm 16. The relatively small volume of water indifferential depth X drains through the first flapper valve seat 41 intoelongate pipe or valve body 28 to the outlet 30. When the user desiresto flush solid waste, the user operates the second handle, which, inturn, simultaneously operates the independent first handle to open bothflapper valves 24, 26 via the first and second lever arms 12 and 14. Themuch greater volume of water in differential depth Y insures flushing ofthe solid wastes.

Due to the features above, the toilet water saver 10 promotes waterconservation by only using the necessary amount of water for theparticular task. The majority of toilet flushes occur for liquid wastes,but conventional toilets consume the same amount of available water inthe tank for both liquid and solid wastes. A substantial savings inwater consumption, as well as financial savings, may be obtained by theabove system, since it reduces the potential for wasting the water.

It should be noted that the present invention may encompass a variety ofalternatives to the various features thereof. For example, the flushingvalve assembly may be formed from PVC pipes, plastics or other sturdywaterproof materials. Moreover, the piping thereof may be an integralunit or may be separate pipes threaded or adhesively connected to eachother.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to theembodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodimentswithin the scope of the following claims.

1. A toilet water saver, comprising: a toilet tank adapted for holdingwater for flushing a toilet bowl, the tank having an outlet adapted forconnection to a toilet bowl; a water refill assembly extending into thetank, the refill assembly being adapted for maintaining the flush waterat a predetermined level in the tank; a flush valve assembly having: avalve body including an elongated pipe having at an upper end at a firstdifferential depth below the predetermined water level and a lower endconnected to the tank outlet; a first flapper valve disposed at theupper end of the valve body, the first flapper valve permitting a firstvolume of flush water to pass through the valve body and the tank outletwhen the first flapper valve is in an open position, the first volume offlush water being defined by the first differential depth and beingadequate to flush liquid waste from the toilet bowl; and a secondflapper valve disposed adjacent the lower end of the valve body pipe,the second flapper valve being disposed at a second differential depthbelow the predetermined water level, the second flapper valve permittinga second volume of flush water to pass through the valve body and thetank outlet when the first and second flapper valves are simultaneouslyin the open position, the second flush volume being defined by thesecond differential depth and being adequate to flush both liquid andsolid waste from the toilet bowl; and an actuator for selectivelyactuating either the first flapper valve alone or both the first and thesecond flapper valves simultaneously at a user's option.
 2. The toiletwater saver according to claim 1, wherein said water refill assemblycomprises: an elongated float arm adapted for connection to a ballcockassembly; and a float disposed on the float arm, wherein draining andrefilling water in the tank lowers and raises the float for operation ofthe ballcock assembly.
 3. The toilet water saver according to claim 1,wherein the flushing valve assembly further comprises an elongatedoverflow tube adjacent said valve body.
 4. The toilet water saveraccording to claim 1, wherein said valve body further comprises a branchpipe extending orthogonal to said elongated pipe adjacent the lower end,said second flapper valve being disposed on the branch pipe.
 5. Thetoilet water saver according to claim 1, wherein said flush valveassembly further comprises a first valve seat disposed at the upper endof said elongated pipe and a second valve seat disposed in said branchpipe, said first and second flapper valves being seated in the first andsecond valve seats, respectively, when in a closed position, the firstand second valve seats being formed at an acute angle relative tohorizontal in order to promoted fluid flow when flushing said tank. 6.The toilet water saver according to claim 1, wherein said first volumecomprises less than about one-third of the entire volume of waterdefined by the predetermined water level.
 7. The toilet water saveraccording to claim 1, wherein said second volume comprises substantiallythe entire volume of water defined by the predetermined water level.